Editorial: State cash to send bullied students to private schools? Not so fast

On its face, House Bill 1 sounds like an effective countermeasure to bullying in Florida’s public schools.

If your child is the victim of a bully in a public school, she or he could receive a state voucher — up to $7,000, depending on the child’s grade level — to transfer to a private school. Or maybe the bullied student wants to transfer to another public school.

HB 1, also known as the Hope Scholarship Program, would provide up to $750 to help cover transportation costs.

Kindergarten through 12th-grade students would be eligible for a scholarship if they have “been subjected to an incident of battery, harassment, hazing, bullying” or other offenses, including kidnapping, physical attack and robbery, according to the bill.

Is this really the state’s legislative solution to the bullying problem in Florida public schools? To allow a victim to transfer to a private school or another public school if he/she has been subjected to an incident of bullying?

More than 36,000 Florida students reported incidents of bullying, harassment, fighting and physical attack during the 2015-16 school year, according to state data. The cost of funding the transfer of thousands and thousands of students to other schools could be substantial.

Wouldn't it be better — and far less expensive — to use some of these funds to supplement and improve existing anti-bullying programs in local schools?

Second, consider what this proposal teaches victims. Or the bullies. HB 1 would teach victims of bullying that the way to deal with your problem is to run — to another school. It would teach bullies that there are limited consequences for their actions.

This proposal would make a lot more sense if it were the bullies getting transferred, not their victims.

Third, the state’s traditional public schools already compete with charter schools for limited education funds. HB 1 could potentially accelerate the drain of funds from public to private schools.

Fourth, HB 1 would do little to change the culture of bullying. Bullies thrive in secret. They derive their power, in large part, from the fear they engender in their victims. Creating an environment that encourages victims to come forward is the way to cripple a bully’s power and break the cycle.

Solutions

The solution to bullying is NOT facilitating the transfer of bullied students to other schools.

The solution is holding bullies accountable for their actions and teaching conflict-resolution skills to all children.

Let’s redouble our efforts to address bullying at home and school before proceeding down the path of transferring bullied students.

Treasure Coast Newspapers and the Naples Daily News are part of the USA TODAY NETWORK Florida.